January’s 38 new COVID cases highest increase in four months

From eight new cases recorded during Jan. 15-24, 2021, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rose to 168 as 13 new infections were tallied last week.
The spate of new cases began on Jan. 26, when two positive RT-PCR test results were announced by the Department of Health (DOH) for the island province: a 41-year old female government employee from Bato (Patient #4232) and a 58-year old male government employee from Virac (#4233). Both were asymptomatic and were isolated.
Two days later on Jan. 28, one more was added: #4260, a 37-year-old, female contractual employee from Virac, who was noted to have diarrhea on Jan. 25 and was isolated.
The next day, Jan. 29, brought in six (6) new confirmed cases, three of them members of the same family who had contracted the virus from a family member who had tested positive on Jan. 23.
Patient #4287 is a 47-year-old male government employee from Pandan with no travel history. He was asymptomatic and was isolated in a government facility.
Patient #4290 is a 40-year-old female private employee from Virac who was noted have headache, fever, back pain and loss of sense of smell on Jan. 21 and was isolated.
Patient #4292 is a 24-year-old woman from Virac who was observed to have sneezing, loss of sense of smell and loss of sense of taste on the same day and was isolated.
The three members of the same family from Virac who fell ill from coronavirus are Patient #4288, a 14-year-old girl who was noted to have on-and-off colds, loose bowel movement, throat itchiness and on-and-off fever on Jan. 20; Patient #4289, a 57-year-old man who suffered from cough and colds on Jan. 21; and, Patient #4291, a 50-year-old woman who had sore throat on Jan. 24 and diarrhea two days later.
They are now isolated within the home they occupy with Patient #4193, a 21-year-old male government employee who was noted to have fever, cough and colds on Jan. 18.
After a one-day respite, the trend continued on Jan. 30, with two more confirmed cases: Patient #4314, a 36-year-old female job-order employee from San Andres; and, #4315, a 22-year-old female contractual employee from San Miguel. Both are asymptomatic and were quarantined.
Two more were found positive on the last day of the month: a resident of Bigaa, Virac, and another from Banawang, Bato. The Provincial Health Office (PHO) has yet to release its official report on the matter.